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Illinois Drunk Driving Laws

Has a DUI turned you world upside down? Are you panicking about its implications for both your personal and professional life? The first thing you need to do is remember you’re innocent until proven guilty. Also, you’re entitled to a fair defense in a court of law.

In light of this, the first thing you should do is to hire an experienced Illinois DUI lawyer. An attorney who spends every day working with DUI cases will provide the unique insight and guidance you can’t find with a regular lawyer. It’s this experience that will provide the backbone for your DUI case.

Of course, it’ll also come in handy for you to have a working knowledge of Illinois DUI laws. This will help you understand your case better, and it will help you make the right decisions with regards to your future.

Illinois DUI Basics

To fully understand Illinois DUI laws, you need to recognize the foundation of it. Like other states, you’re deemed legally drunk with a BAC of .08%. In other words, you cannot operate a motor vehicle if your BAC is at this level. If you’re found to be driving with a BAC of .08% or higher, you will receive a DUI-no questions asked.

But body chemistry isn’t the only factor in whether or not you’ll receive a DUI. In fact, you can get a DUI with a BAC of just .05% if the officer finds your driving to be erratic or you fail the field sobriety tests. In other words, your fate lies in the judgment of the officer. Of course, one could say this is subjective, and that’s why it’s so important to have a great Illinois DUI lawyer by your side.

It’s also worth noting that refusing the blood test in Illinois will result in your license being suspended for a year.

Illinois DUI Penalties

This is the portion of Illinois DUI laws that’s of the utmost interest to most people. In this section, we’ll examine the penalties you could face for being convicted of drunk driving in Illinois.

If this is your first DUI conviction, you face 0-12 months in jail, suspended license for one year, up to $2,500 in fines, 100 hours of community service, and you might have an ignition interlock installed on your car.

For your second DUI offense (within 5 years of first conviction,) the penalties include 5 days to one year in jail, up to $2,500 in fines, loss of driver’s license for up to 5 years, and a mandatory installation of the ignition interlock on your vehicle.

Starting to see the pattern here? For your third DUI (within 5 years of previous conviction,) you could face up to 7 years in jail, 480 hours of community service, fines up to $25,000, and loss of license for at least 10 years.

Note, the state of Illinois has zero tolerance for minors drinking and driving. A minor faces the same penalties as someone over the age of 21 on their first DUI conviction.

Illinois DUI Lawyer

So, now you can understand the importance of finding a qualified Illinois DUI lawyer. Of course, it can be difficult to find the right attorney if you’ve never hired one before. That’s why we created TicketVoid. A FREE service, TicketVoid makes finding experienced lawyers easy. All you have to do is simply click on the city nearest you, and you’ll have access to listings from the top Illinois DUI lawyers. Don’t wait to get your DUI case started. Get the defense you need today!